midwayfair
Well-known member
One thing I like about guitar pedals is that their power requirements are fairly well-standardized.
Preamps and compressors, not so much. But there are a lot of common requirements, and a lot of "close" requirements. For instance, almost all mic preamps require +48V phantom power. +15/-15 isn't really that far away from that. So I've done a few preamps now that just run on 48V, and regulate down if I need to.
I also dislike building power supplies, so this has let me use wallwarts for all my stuff. While it's slightly inconvenient to have four different warts attached to my power strip, this also lets me hide the power supplies at least a foot away from any audio devices.
Assuming that I filtered the power section of any build very well and ensure that my devices are safely within the operating range of the wart I want to use, what are the reasons to go with a built-in power supply? It looks like it's a lot of downside: I need additional space inside the case, have to worry about orientation of the transformers to avoid hum, etc. Are there any benefits to the stability of most circuits (e.g. the ability to use ground as a rock-solid -- but not adjustable -- bias point).
Specifically, I'm looking at the possibility of building an 1176-style compressor that just runs on the 48V warts I use for mic preamps, and knowing that I don't have to build a power supply in the box would make the project very economical and the box much smaller.
Preamps and compressors, not so much. But there are a lot of common requirements, and a lot of "close" requirements. For instance, almost all mic preamps require +48V phantom power. +15/-15 isn't really that far away from that. So I've done a few preamps now that just run on 48V, and regulate down if I need to.
I also dislike building power supplies, so this has let me use wallwarts for all my stuff. While it's slightly inconvenient to have four different warts attached to my power strip, this also lets me hide the power supplies at least a foot away from any audio devices.
Assuming that I filtered the power section of any build very well and ensure that my devices are safely within the operating range of the wart I want to use, what are the reasons to go with a built-in power supply? It looks like it's a lot of downside: I need additional space inside the case, have to worry about orientation of the transformers to avoid hum, etc. Are there any benefits to the stability of most circuits (e.g. the ability to use ground as a rock-solid -- but not adjustable -- bias point).
Specifically, I'm looking at the possibility of building an 1176-style compressor that just runs on the 48V warts I use for mic preamps, and knowing that I don't have to build a power supply in the box would make the project very economical and the box much smaller.